Students dig for clues to village’s past

A Level archeology students from Ormiston Academy and head of humanities David Grocott at the dig in Long Melford. ANL-150104-160649001

Pupils and volunteers were on the hunt for buried clues from Long Melford’s history as they teamed up for an archeological dig.

The Long Melford Primary School playing field was chosen as the site for the joint dig between Year 5 pupils and a group of Ormiston Sudbury Academy A-level archeology students, with the help of volunteers from Long Melford heritage centre.

The area proved a success in 2012 when archeologists found a burial site with 2,000-year-old skeletons buried beneath the primary school’s playground.

David Grocott, head of humanities at Ormiston Sudbury Academy, said this was the first joint dig between the two schools.

He said previous digs by archeologists had shed light on Long Melford’s history, but he believes there is much lying undiscovered throughout the village.

“Several local excavations have shown that there is a strong Roman presence here,” he said. “My hope for the A-level course is that we will be able to do further investigations in Melford.

“It’s lovely if some of the older students can encourage and work with some of the younger ones.”

After starting at the far end of the field, where students found what appeared to be a knuckle bone, they moved nearer the playground in the hope of finding more buried treasures.

Ormiston Academy student Ted Russell, from Cavendish, hoped to find more bones as their digging deepened.

“Hopefully, the burials will carry on and we’ll find something worthwhile,” he said.

John Nunn, co-founder of the heritage centre, said: “I haven’t known the children of Long Melford to have such enthusiasm for history.”